Blast Kills Sailors on U.S. Ship in Yemen

Published: October 13, 2000

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In recent weeks, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq has also intensified his threats against the United States, Israel and Arab states like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Even as the Cole was struck, American intelligence officials had detected movement by one of Iraq's Republican Guard divisions west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, though Mr. Cohen suggested the timing could be coincidental.

The explosion came at the height of the American presidential race. Along with the violence in Israel, it immediately eclipsed the campaign debate. Vice President Al Gore returned to Washington from the campaign trail to participate in meetings at the White House about both crises. His Republican rival, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, called for a vigorous, united approach on both fronts.

"Let's hope we can gather enough intelligence to figure out who did the act and take the necessary action," Mr. Bush said of the supposed attack. "There must be a consequence."

The incident was a jolt to an administration already scrambling to save the Middle East peace process, and its effects rippled around Washington and the world.

President Clinton, who returned early to the White House from a visit to Chappaqua, N.Y., where he celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary, ordered all American ships in the Persian Gulf region to pull out of port and head to the relative safety of open waters.

The Pentagon announced that it had heightened the state of alert for American forces around the world, including at American bases, while the State Department reiterated a worldwide advisory warning Americans living or traveling overseas to be watchful of potential terrorist attacks.

The Cole, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is one of the Navy's most sophisticated warships, equipped with advanced radar systems and high-speed missiles and cannons designed to protect itself and American battle groups against air and missile attacks.

Despite its technological sophistication, however, the ship was essentially helpless to prevent an attack of the type presumed to have happened — the maritime equivalent of a truck packed with explosives pulling up to a building.

The Cole's crew was already on a heightened state of alert because of the threat of terrorism in the region generally, but the boat that exploded did not raise suspicions since it was part of a flotilla helping the Cole moor at a refueling pier in the port. "It has a legitimate purpose for being in the area," the senior official said of the ship.

According to Pentagon officials, an Army major who serves as deputy defense attaché at the American Embassy in Yemen and was observing the refueling operation reported that the boat had already tied up one of the Cole's mooring lines to the refueling station in the harbor. The officials said the boat then returned, evidently to retrieve another line, when it exploded.

One Pentagon official said the two men in the boat appeared to stand moments before the blast, but Mr. Cohen and Admiral Clark declined to speculate on their actions before the blast or their motives. Both evidently died in the explosion, while their boat was destroyed. It was not clear if others were aboard.

The Cole's vulnerability to such an apparent attack immediately raised questions about the security measures the ship had taken. Admiral Clark said that the ship's captain would not have necessarily have expected a routine mooring operation to pose a threat.

"Let me just say that the ability to deal with this kind of attack is limited by this circumstance," Admiral Clark said.

While the visit was scheduled to be brief, Navy officials had notified the government of Yemen several days in advance. While security personnel were on deck at the time, a Pentagon official said the crew had no warning before the explosion, which had such force that it buckled the ship's decks, badly damaging the engine room in the middle of the ship, as well as an adjoining mess and living quarters. Most of those killed were in those areas, the official said.

Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said she had spoken with the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had offered to help with the treatment of those injured and with the investigation.

If confirmed as a terrorist attack, it would be the worst against American military forces since the bombing of an Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia killed 19 airmen in 1996. It was the worst attack on an American Navy ship since an Iraqi missile struck the Stark, a guided-missile frigate in the Persian Gulf in 1987, killing 37 sailors.

The Navy dispatched two other ships from the region to Yemen to help with the effort to secure and ultimately repair the Cole. They are expected to arrive today. Mr. Cohen said British and French ships were also headed to Aden to help.

The roughly three dozen injured by the explosion were being treated at a hospital in Aden but were expected to be evacuated soon to American military hospitals, possibly in Germany. A medical team was flying from the island nation of Bahrain, headquarters of the Navy's 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf.

At the Cole's home port in Norfolk, the Navy set up a center for family members to gather as grim news of deaths and injuries came in.

Mr. Clinton said the explosion aboard the Cole would not scuttle American diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, if indeed that was the motive for the apparent attack. "If their intention was to deter us from our mission of promoting peace and security in the Middle East, they will fail utterly," he said.

At the Pentagon, Mr. Cohen echoed those remarks and warned that the United States would not rest "until we have tracked down those who are responsible for this vicious and cowardly act."

"In the wake of this tragedy," he continued. "I want to be very clear about one point. We will continue to protect our national interests around the world, in the Middle East and elsewhere. No one should doubt our resolve to remain a force for peace and for stability, and no one should assume that they can force us to retreat. No one should assume they can attack us with impunity."